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5 Forgotten Workout Videos We Were All Completely Obsessed With In The 90s
Growing up in the 90s wasn't all just scrunchies and platform shoes. You had to work out a lot because for some reason every 90s designer thought we all wanted to wear crop tops. Hey designers, guess what? We didn't.
There was a lot of pressure on being thin, and honestly as a young girl at the time, hearing models like Kate Moss say, "nothing tasted as good as skinny felt" really confused me. I mean, had she never eaten ice cream? Ice cream tastes better than anything feels.
Anyways, we're getting off track. The fact was, we all had this enormous focus on being fit, and the best way to make it happen was to workout. Working out wasn't really fun, but the videos we watched tried to pretend like it was.
Groups of smiling men and women would gather around in their coordinated outfits and Lycra bodysuits, telling us "one more" roughly eight times before it was actually, truly, one more. They fooled us all, but I guess it was for our own good.
How many of these workout videos do you remember trying back in the 90s?
Paula Abdul - 'Total Body Cardio Dance Workout'
Paula Abdul was always an energetic singer, but it was her dancing that always caught people's attention. She was peppy, enthusiastic, and you can't argue with her results. If dancing was how she got so fit, then it was dancing we were going to do.
She had a lot of videos over the years, including Total Body Cardio Dance Workout, Body-Sculpting Dance Workout for Weight Loss, and even Total Body Dancer's Stretch.
She was full of good advice on how to get that dancer's body, and we would like to thank her for it.
La Toya Jackson - 'Step Up'
La Toya may not be the most famous Jackson, but she had her own workout video based on the 90s trend of step classes. She wore a cool headband, she rocked a yellow leotard, and it's all very bright and colorful.
We all know the Jackson family is known for their amazing dance moves, so it makes sense that La Toya 'steps up' with some dance inspired aerobics.
But there were so many other options to choose between...
Greg Smithey - 'Buns of Steel'
Listen, we all want "buns of steel" but it's not easy. Greg Smithey would take us through the whole video, which we were supposed to watch three times a week. If you wanted a simple yet horribly painful workout, this was the one for you.
There are so many sweatpants-headband combinations that it is just absolutely perfect.
Elle Macpherson and Karen Voight - 'The Body Workout'
Because having a super model help you workout is really great for the self-esteem right? Well, I guess she knew what she was talking about, and thanks to her expert trainer Karen Voight, you could too.
Elle is on some extravagant island, I guess that's her workout island, with her trainer and you get to follow along in your living room. Seems satisfying right?
Alyssa Milano - 'Teen Steam'
Yes, this came out in 1988, but a lot of us continued to watch it into the 90s. Milano was one of those stars that felt relatable, and the fact that it was directed at teens made all the banter in between sets something we could actually connect with.
It made so much more sense to us when were were teens who needed to "let out some steam" instead of just wanting to do aerobics.